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Protecting the Ogallala Aquifer in Kansas from Depletion: The Teaching Perspective
Peck, John
Peck, John
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Abstract
When I first started teaching water law, I visited water users in Western Kansas and learned of their problems in obtaining and maintaining groundwater rights from the Ogallala Aquifer. Then I began to hear criticism from people outside Western Kansas: "Don't grow corn and soybeans where only wheat should grow." "Shut down irrigators and beef packing plants." "Conserve groundwater for future generations." "Establish a Buffalo Commons." The questions of whether curtailing existing water rights to achieve safe yield would amount to a "taking," how to preserve the Ogallala Aquifer, and whether to preserve the Aquifer for future generations have been excellent issues for classroom discussion.
Eastern Kansas has rains and rivers. Western Kansas has the Ogallala Aquifer. Western Kansas is sparsely populated. Agriculture dominates the economy. Large-scale irrigation, cattle feed yards, and beef processing plants are vital industries. An influx of immigrant workers has changed the racial, nationality, and ethnic mix of southwest Kansas cities.
Originally, Kansas followed the riparian doctrine for streams and the absolute ownership doctrine for groundwater. With the 1945 Water Appropriation Act, the Kansas legislature changed to the appropriation doctrine for both streams and groundwater. It protected existing rights with "vested rights" for water already being used. In 1957, following Professor Shurtz's recommendations that the appropriative water rights needed legislative protections, the legislature amended the Act to state expressly that water rights are "real property right[s], appurtenant to ... the land on or in connection with which the water is used."
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2004
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Journal of Land, Resources, and Environmental Law
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24 J. Land, Resources, & Envtl. L 349